CHARTER FOR COMPASSION / WORLD

Of course we all know that there are things one shouldn't say in cross-cultural contexts. Travel publishers have made millions out of  'do's and don'ts' for visitors and businesspeople. But what about things that you CAN'T say? TEDGlobal's legion of volunteer translators have come up with a list of words that just don't "work" in other languages. Or they can only be conveyed it is only through phrases, paragraphs or diagrams. 

Dutch:
pretoogjes: ‘fun-eyes,’ the eyes of a chuckling person 
who is up to some benign mischief
ˈprɛto:xjəs

Polish
bakalie: any dried fruit, nuts, and candied citrus peel used in baking or added to ice cream
baˈkaljɛ

Croatian
milozvučan: having a voice that sounds nice and sweet
milozʋutʃan

Check out  the "21 unstranslatable ideas worth spreading"on the TEDGlobal blog and explore the events happening this week at TEDGlobal 2012.

Cross boundaries and share your own unstranslatables on Facebook: The editor's pick from German? Ohwurm, Mundwinkel.